Test tomorrow but in the meantime....does this sound like cushings?

[EmmaH]

Hi all,

I have a 15 years old dog that has over the past few weeks displayed the following:-

Excessive thirst
Increased urination (sometimes in house)
Very stressy and anxious
Unsettled/unable to sleep
Ravenous appetite / but then picky with food
Weakened hind legs

He was diagnosed as Hypothyroid 2 years ago and on meds but I have always said that I feel like I am giving him steroids!! He just cant relax at all which is such a worry :-(

He is getting tested tomorrow but any thoughts on all this welcome....

[labblab]

Hello and welcome! My very first thought is to wonder whether your boy’s thyroid supplementation is too high. Even though the symptoms you’ve listed can be consistent with Cushing’s, they can also be caused by an overactive thyroid. When is the last time his thyroid level was tested? How about any other bloodwork? Any other lab abnormalities to report prior to the Cushing’s testing?

Marianne

[EmmaH]

I have actually decreased his thyroid meds as we have been in this situation before but not with the P&P. He was last tested in April. Still fairly low at that point. It is tis agitation that is bothering me. At his age, he should be snoozy and comfy. He has very mild anaemia and also dilute urine which is understandable considering the amount he is drinking. Everything else clear.

[labblab]

If it was me, I would formally retest his thyroid level (and check his other standard blood chemistries) before launching into advanced and expensive Cushing’s testing. As you’ll see, excitability/agitation is a common symptom of hyperthyroidism. Rather than just checking a simple T4 level alone, it might be worth it to have a more complete thyroid panel performed in order to make sure he’s not being either under- or over-supplemented. If you formally establish that thyroid is not the culprit here, then I can see moving on. But I’d really want to thoroughly check that first.

The advantage of also running a preliminary blood chemistry panel is to see whether there are any other lab abnormalities consistent with Cushing’s (or any other disorder, for that matter). Cushpups almost always exhibit an abnormally high ALKP. Other liver markers may also be elevated, as well as cholesterol. One drawback to the two diagnostic Cushing’s blood tests is that they are vulnerable to returning “false positives” in the presence of bodily stress due to other illnesses or injuries. That’s why you want to first rule out other possible issues to the extent that it is possible, and also see whether typical Cushing’s abnormalities are actually present. Your vet may already be planning to run these additional tests tomorrow, as well. But as I say, if it was me, I’d like to see these preliminary test results before advancing to an ACTH stimulation test or LDDS (the two Cushing’s diagnostics).


The symptoms of hyperthyroidism in dogs include:

Weight loss
Hyper-excitability
Increased appetite
Increased thirst
Increased urination
Enlargement of thyroid gland
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Increased amount of stool
Congestive heart failure
Tachycardia (fast heart rate)
Heart murmurs
Cardiomegaly (enlarged heart)
Dyspnea (shortness of breath)

Marianne

[EmmaH]

Thank you. I stopped his thyroid meds last Friday as I was suspicious of over. He’s still the same though so unsure whether that would still be at a high level by now

[Harley PoMMom]

Hi and welcome to you and your boy! Another thing I would have tested is his urine to see if an UTI is brewing as this will make a dog drink/urinate more. The symptoms associated with Cushing's do not come on suddenly, generally dogs have had Cushing's for a long time before they are diagnosed as it is a slow progressing disease.

Was the reason for the anemia ever diagnosed?

Lori

[EmmaH]

He had a uti in June and is on antibiotics now as a precaution. The vets put the anaemia down to old age at the moment but obviously hypo dogs can be anaemic. He was also on pardale which again can lower red blood count. These other symptoms have been coming on over months if I’m honest.

[Squirt's Mom]

Welcome to you and your sweet baby!

FYI - Cushing's happens sslloowwllyy over years, not months. ;) The drugs used to treat Cushing's are VERY powerful so you want to have as little doubt as possible about the diagnosis. So don't rush into believing your baby has Cushing's just yet. Rule everything else out first. And don't let the vet rush you, either. We have seen too often that vets don't know as much about Cushing's as they would like us to believe....including 2 of the ones I've dealt with over the years.

[Joan2517]

Leslie is right. Don't let your vet rush you into treatment. Mine did with my first cushpup. Made me feel guilty when I wanted to wait a little before I started giving my Lena the meds. I didn't know anything about Cushing's and believed that he knew what he was talking about.

This time around with Gable, I waited until we were absolutely sure that he had Cushing's. And even then, I didn't rush into giving him the pills. We discussed it here on the forum and came up with a dose that we all were comfortable with. Then I told my vet what we would start him at.